Method and system for combining text and voice messages in a communications dialogue

ABSTRACT

This publication discloses a method and system for delivering messages in a telecommunications network ( 1, 2, 6, 11, 12 ). In the method a voice-message call attempt is received ( 43 ), or a connection is formed to a potential user of a service, on the basis of a voice-message call attempt. According to the invention, as a response to the voice-message connection formed or to the call attempt, to the second part ( 41 ) of the connection is sent a text-form message, which initiates a long, logically continuous, temporally discontinuous session N, in such a way that the sender address (e.g., the A number) is converted to correspond to the session number N and the session stage J at the time, and in the message there is at least one selection query.

The present invention relates to a method, according to the preamble ofClaim 1, for combining text and voice messages in a communicationsdialogue.

The invention also relates to a system according to Claim 8.

Methods and systems of this kind are used, for example, for implementingtext-message based booking services.

According to the prior art, initiating a dialogue has required atext-based initiation, which can be difficult from the user's point ofview, and the situation can form a threshold question for starting touse the service. On the other hand, message dialogues are implementedpurely on a text-message basis. A message dialogue may break, if it hasbeen wished to make contact in the dialogue with the aid of a voicemessage, such as a voice call. The dialogue has had no support for voicemessages; instead the voice message has remained an event external tothe dialogue.

In addition, according to the prior art, bulk deliveries of e-mailmessages have been implemented from a number inside operators' networksusing Content Gateway technology. The delivery address of the ContentGateway bulk-delivery technology on the network side is not a familiartelephone number, which has the form +358 400 123 456, but is a shortservice number, which is not a real telephone number, but instead, forexample 16400. Because it is not a real network number, it also cannotroam from one network to another, but goes directly to the contentgateway of the operator in question. In the present document, the termroaming refers to either the updating of number information when aterminal device moves from one country to another, or the functionalityof a service number when the service is used from a different country tothat in which the service provider is located. Operators haveconstructed varied and complex solutions, by means of which services canbe made to function also in other operators' networks and number spaces.In practice, this leads to complicated mutual agreements on the jointuse of specific numbers, for example, by routing messages coming to aspecific number of another operator back to the operator owning thenumber.

For years, attempts have been made to harmonize numbers on a Europeanlevel, but the competing operators have never reached agreement ongeneral service numbers. An additional drawback of the presenttechnology is that, in the solution, the connection equipment inside thenetwork of one operator should be connected with the correspondingconnection equipment of all the other operators of networks (point topoint). This creates a large number of agreements and connections fromone place to another. Therefore in practice such solutions only functionbetween a few operators.

The message bulk-delivery systems according to the prior art are thusimplemented on a telephone-operator-specific basis, in such a way thatthe ‘sender’ field of the messages has shown the operator's own number,which as described above is not a roaming number. The services havetherefore not functioned outside the operator's own country. Such asystem is not suitable for query dialogues of a demanding type, as theuse of the ‘reply function’ has always returned the messages to the samenumber and then only if the subscriber has been in their home network.

Attempts have also been made to solve the problem using tailor-mademodem banks, but these solutions have been slow, expensive, and evenunreliable.

The invention is intended to eliminate the defects of the prior artdisclosed above and for this purpose create an entirely new type ofmethod for combining text and voice messages in a communicationsdialogue.

One preferred embodiment of the invention concerns applying theaforementioned method to the bulk delivery of messages, and providingthe invention for international use.

The invention is based on starting the message dialogue with a voicemessage. In practice, this takes place in such a way that avoice-message call attempt (voice-call or VOIP connection) is received,or a connection is formed with a potential user of the service on thebasis of a voice-message call attempt, in response to the voice-messageconnection formed, or to the call attempt, to the potential user of theservice is sent a text-form message, which initiates a long, logicallycontinuous, temporally discontinuous session N, in such a way that thesender address (e.g., the A number) is altered to correspond to thesession number N and the session stage J, and there is at least oneselection query in the message.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a messagebulk-delivery method is used, in which case the desired reply address ofeach bulk-delivered message, typically the sender information, isconverted to correspond to a predefined dialogue, in which the stage ofthe dialogue defines unequivocally the sender information, in which casethe sending and reception of messages are implemented in different partsof the telecommunications network.

More specifically, the method according to the invention ischaracterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim1.

The system according to the invention is, for its part, characterized bywhat is stated in the characterizing portion of Claim 8.

Considerable advantages are gained with the aid of the invention.

The voice-message possibility according to the invention facilitates theinitiation of the service and creates flexibility in the dialogue.Flexibility can be implemented in a very user-friendly manner, in whichcase voice messages can be used to start very complex dialogues, thusavoiding unnecessary contacts that waste the user's time and also savingcapacity in the communications network.

The preferred embodiments of the invention are operator-independent andwill function in the networks of all operators. The most typicalapplications of the invention will function in the telephone of any GSMcustomer in any network whatever. The invention offers a cost advantageon the transmission side thanks to the bulk delivery while receptionnevertheless operates entirely country-independently, i.e. in anentirely roaming manner from the network of each operator.

In the following, the invention is examined with the aid of examples andwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows schematically a solution according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a solution according to a preferredembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows schematically information fields in a message according tothe invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of a solution according to the invention.

According to FIG. 1, in the prior art telephone operators A and B havetext-message bulk-delivery means 3 in their own networks, by means ofwhich each operator can effectively deliver large numbers of textmessages. In the solution shown, each operator has a service number 20relating to the joint message service arranged by agreement and usingconnection technology, which is not available to other operators outsidethe agreement. According to the prior art, the service number 20 is anon-roaming short number.

In the system according to FIG. 2, there are typically two parties,which in exceptional cases can be the same company.

The service providing service company or association 1, which providessubscribers 8, for example, with booking services for buying tickets,changing tyres, etc. The service company or association 1 operates in aradio network, the home network 13 of some operator.

In the present application, the term service company or association 1refers to an association or company, which operates in either its own oran extraneous telecommunications network, and produces either directlyor indirectly services for customers. Such a company or association istypically a sub-contractor of an actual telephone operator, nor does auser of the service necessarily even know of the existence of theservice company or association 1. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the service company or association 1 produces either directlyor indirectly many kinds of booking and reservation services fortelephone subscribers. The invention can also be used within a singleassociation.

The system also includes a telephone operator 2, in the network 14 ofwhich there are means and equipment for the bulk delivery of digitalmessages containing sender information (such as SMS messages). Such apractical network element is, for example, SMS bulk-delivery logic 3,which can be implemented, for example, using Content Gateway technology.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the first stage the service companyor association 1 uses combination logic 9 and number conversion 4 toform a large number of messages 40, each of which contains recipientinformation 30, the actual message 31, and information 32 of either thesender or in practice the address, to which a reply to the message 40 isdesired. In an SMS (Short Message System) application, the recipientinformation 30 is a mobile-station number and the sender information 32is the sender information in the sender field 32 of the SMS messagealtered using a number converter 4.

Each of the aforementioned messages can be sent in response to atelephone call or call attempt of a user (subscriber).

Within the scope of the invention, the message 40 can be any messagewhatever that can be sent through a digital information network, whichcomprises recipient information, the actual message, and information onthe desired reply address, for example, in the form of senderinformation. Such message 40 can be not only SMS messages, but also, forinstance, e-mail messages, or, for example, multimedia messages (MMS).

A large number of the aforementioned messages can be formed dynamicallyon the basis of complex dialogues. Corresponding, for example, inemergency applications, the message totality can be static and ready foran emergency situation.

In the conversion of the desired reply address, for example of thesender's number, it is possible to take into account the address (ornumber) from which the connection to the service company or association1 has been formed. In this way, it is possible to route the messages ofsubscribers 8 in the USA to their own national server, andcorrespondingly the messages of Finnish users of the same service totheir own national server. From these national servers, the replymessages can be transferred over suitable telecommunications links tothe service company or association 1 for further measures.

The messages formed by the service company or association 1 are sent tothe bulk-delivery logic 3, which is located in the operator's 2 network14, from where the bulk delivery 5 of the messages is implemented. Fromhere the messages 40 disperse always according to the recipientinformation 30 and arrive at the subscriber's 8 terminal 7 through thesubscriber's 8 radio network 6 at the time. The subscriber 8 can replyto the message using the ‘reply’ function, in which case the replymessage is sent to the address that is defined by the value of thesender or reply-address field 32. The message 40 leaves to the servicecompany or association 1 through radio networks 12, 11, and 13.Naturally, if the subscriber 8 is within the area of the home network 13of the service company or association 1, the message will not travelthrough the networks 11 and 12. From the home network 13, the message istransferred to the reception 10 of messages for the service company orassociation, where it is combined with a suitable dialogue with the aidof combination logic 9 and number conversion. In practice, networks 13and 14 may be the same thing.

More concretely, for example, in an SMS application, when a message issent to the subscriber 8, the sender's number (A number) is convertedbefore bulk delivery in block 4, for example, to +358500001 in the firststage of a predefined session (dialogue). The number space of thesender's number (A number) is defined by the service provider's 1 ownnumber space, which in the invention is entirely independent of thenumber space of the sending operator 2. In the following stage of thesame session, the A number is, for example, +358500002, guided by thelogic 9 of the service company or association 1, and so on. The sendingA number is tightly defined from a logically progressing dialogue formedby the service provider 1, in which the reply to each message sent isawaited at a specific telephone number (digital reply address), which iscontained in the message sent as the A number.

Thus, the subscriber replies to the SMS message using the replyfunction, so that in the first stage of the dialogue the reply goes tothe number +35800001 and correspondingly in the second stage of thedialogue to the number +35800002.

Example of dialogue:

Message Sender's number

1. Do you need to book a time for tyre changing, reply Y/N +35850001

2. Is 07.12.2005 suitable, reply Y/N +35850002

With the reply ‘Y’ of the subscriber 8 the system of the serviceprovider 1 sends a message 2. The dialogue terminates, if the reply tothe first message is ‘N’. In stage 2, the reply ‘Y’ leads to the timebeing booked, whereas the reply ‘N’ leads to a new booking proposal.

The aforementioned message can be sent as a response to a telephone callor call attempt by the user (subscriber) to the service number of thetyre-changing company.

The messages described above are sent as a bulk delivery tohundreds/thousands of recipients at one time and the A number (=field32) of the first stage of the dialogue would then always be +35850001and correspondingly in the second stage of the dialogue always+35850002, so that the reply to each message sent will always betargeted to the right number. In connection with the reply, the A numberof the sender 8 is, in turn, defined by the person for whom the bookingis made.

According to FIG. 4, in block 43 a voice-message call attempt (voicecall or VOIP connection) is received from a user (typically asubscriber), or a connection is formed to a potential user of theservice on the basis of a voice-message call attempt. As a response tothe formed voice-message connection or call attempt, a text-form messageis sent to the potential user in accordance with block 41, which startsa long, logically continuous, temporally discontinuous session N, insuch a way that the sender address (e.g. the A number) is converted tocorrespond to the session number N and the session stage J, and there isat least one selection query in the message.

The session N can continue, for example, as follows, in order toimplement a long, logically continuous, temporally discontinuous sessionN: in stage 42, a text-form message is received, at the sender addressdefined in the previous stage, from the user of the message service, andthe session proceeds according to the contents of the message.

After this, the next text-form message of session N is sent to the userof the message service, in such a way that the sender address (e.g. theA number) is converted to correspond to the session number N and the newsession stage J.

According to the invention, a preferred embodiment is an SMS message,but according to the invention the message can be some other digitalshort message, in which it is possible to reply to the message, withoutseparately defining the recipient. Thus the sender or reply-addressfield (field 32 in FIG. 3) can contain, instead of telephone-numberinformation, the desired reply address in some other form, for example,as an e-mail address, or as numeric or alphanumeric sender orreply-address information.

Thanks to the number conversion, the message is typically received in anopen radio network external to the network of the operator 2, which sentthe message, and is routed on the basis of the A number to the system ofthe service company or association 1.

Thus, in the invention, in an SMS application, before bulk delivery theinformation of the ‘sender’ field of the text message is changed, insuch a way that a different value is written in it to what the sender'snumber is in reality. This value is obtained from the logic 9, 10 of theservice company or association 1, according to a predefined rule, insuch a way that the queries and replies arriving in the logic can becombined.

In addition, in the system of the service company or association 1 thereis logic 9 connecting the sending end and the receiving end, which cancombine a sent message and its return message arriving from anextraneous operator 2, in such a way that the subscriber can reply (fromoutside the network) from any subscription whatever, but, however, thesending can take place from inside the network using a large capacityand economically. I.e. it is possible to select the cheapest sendingoperator, but receive from anywhere in the information network.

According to the invention, at the receiving end of the messages it ispossible to disperse reception, in such a way that, for example, inSweden reception takes place in a local network element and in Finlandcorrespondingly in a Finnish network element, from which nationalnetwork elements the received messages are transferred using suitableconnections, for example, an IP link, to the system of the servicecompany or association, for further processing. Thus the internationalroaming of the service is faster and cheaper, as well as more reliable.In addition, the use of the service is more pleasant for the consumer,because sending takes place to the number of a local operator, and notto the network of a foreign operator, which is considered to beexpensive. In some subscriptions, a foreign message may even be blocked,i.e. they may not function without the service according to theinvention.

One application of the invention is described in the following:

There are thousands of experts, who are needed in various catastrophe oremergency situations, or in other unexpected situations, where there isan acute need to have a large number of experts acting simultaneously.Often the situation is such that personnel is required in severallocations simultaneously, in which case the emergency control centrewill send messages concerning several locations. The personnel requiredthen receives the message, using the system according to the invention,in their telephones and each recipient replies to the message that seemsmost appropriate. Thus the emergency control centre can decide on thebasis of the replies who to send to which operation and in which area.

For example, after an earthquake an emergency control centre sendsmessages to thousands of emergency-aid specialists, using bulk-deliverylogic, stating that help and expertise are required in Area 1, Area 2,and Area 3. When an emergency-aid specialist receives these threemessages through his own operator, he can reply to the message that isthe best alternative for him. The reply from the expert leaves through aradio network to the number defined by the message as an individualmessage through the service company or association 1 to the emergencycontrol centre. Once the replies have been received, the server of theservice provider 1 can combine the information on which expert is goingto which of the areas 1-3. Thus the emergency control centre can actimmediately and get the necessary personnel and equipment rapidly totheir destinations.

The aforementioned message can be sent as a telephone call or callattempt by the user (subscriber) to the emergency control centre.

One application according to the invention is also the creation of alink to a person who travels globally in the service of an internationalmajor corporation. Large corporations typically have their own messagecommunications centres, responding to the messages sent by which isdifficult using existing technology, because if, for example, anAmerican receives a group message from his company when he is in India,the ‘reply’ function cannot be used to reply to the message, becauseusing existing technology there is a non-international number in thesender field. According to the invention, problems relating to bothinternational roaming and also the further processing of the reply tothe message are solved.

According to the invention, the aforementioned session can be initiatedas a response to a telephone call or call attempt by the user(subscriber) to the company's service number.

If, according to what is stated above, a person who is a subscriberwishes to reply only to telephone numbers with the code of their owncountry, the service provider can send from its own country groupmessages as a mass sending, in which the number of the sender isconverted to an internal number of the recipient's country and therecipients can reply in their own area, without international numbers.In that case, the service provider will require servers in the countryin question. Reply messages from the country-specific server aretransmitted, for instance, over an IP connection to a server in theservice provider's country, in which there is combination logic.

In the invention, a number external to the network is thus convertedinto the sender's identifier (=the desired reply address), so that itmust return through the radio interface of the network. Thus in thereply situation messages are not routed directly to a service numberinside the network, but instead through a radio interface outside thenetwork, so that it roams automatically. For this operation, in onepreferred embodiment of the invention there is thus not the short number16400, but instead the fully roaming international number +358 5016400.

According to the invention, for example, a thousand messages are sent atone time using a bulk-sending application 3, in such a way that eachindividual message is given converted sender information for the replymessage, so that the return messages arrive at different times (aspeople gradually reply) through several radio modems, so that themomentary capacity required for each radio modem will be small. However,the operation of services outside the service provider's home country,i.e. roaming operation, is achieved with the aid of the invention.

In this application, the term sender information refers to both atelephone number (A number) and to any information whatever, transportedwith a message, concerning the desired return address.

The method and system according to the invention are implemented, withthe aid of at least one computer, in a telecommunications network.

The preferred application environment of the solution according to theinvention is disclosed in publication WO 2004/019223, Booking System,messages sent by the system applied to which can be implemented usingthe mass-sending method according to the present invention.

With the aid of the invention, if legislation so requires, the user'sconsent can be sought for the provision of a service including a long,logically continuous, temporally discontinuous session as a response toa first voice-message call or its attempt.

1. A method for sending messages in a telecommunications network themethod comprising: receiving a voice-message call from a potential userof a service, or forming a connection to a potential user of a service,on the basis of a voice-message call attempt; sending a text-formmessage to the potential user of the service as a response to the formedconnection or voice-message the text-form message initiating a long,logically continuous, temporally discontinuous message session N, havinga number of stages J, converting the sender address of each message inthe session to represent the session N and the number of a correspondingsession stage J, and including at least one selection query in eachmessage in the session.
 2. A method for sending messages in atelecommunications network, the method comprising: convertingreply-address information for each of a series of digital messagescorresponding to a predefined dialogue, wherein each stages of thedialogue unequivocally defines the reply-address information; sending,in bulk, digital messages which contain the converted reply-addressinformation; and receiving messages, which are sent on the basis of theconverted reply-address information wherein the transmission andreception of the messages are implemented in different parts of thetelecommunications system.
 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the desired reply-address information is the sender field of themessage.
 4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the message isan SMS message.
 5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein themessage is an MMS message.
 6. The method according to claim 1 or 2,wherein the message is an e-mail message.
 7. The method according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein the reply-address information of the message isconverted into a national address, such as a national telephone number,functioning in the recipient's own country.
 8. A system for sendingmessages in a telecommunications network, the system comprising: aplurality of network subscribers; a service operator configured toexecute the steps of receiving a voice-message call from a potentialuser of a service, or forming a connection to a potential user of aservice on the basis of a voice-message call attempt; sending atext-form message to the potential user of the service as a response tothe formed connection or voice-message, the text-form message initiatinga long, logically continuous, temporally discontinuous message sessionN, having a number of stages j, wherein the sender address of eachmessages in the session is converted to represent the session N and thenumber of a corresponding session stage J, and each message in thesession includes at least one selection query.
 9. The system accordingto claim 8, wherein the service operator is further configured to:convert reply-address information for each of a series of digitalmessages corresponding to a predefine dialogue, where the stages of thedialogue unequivocally defines the reply-address information; send, inbulk, digital messages, which contain the converted reply-addressinformation; and receive messages, which are sent on the basis of theconverted reply-address information wherein that the transmission andreception of the messages are implemented in different parts of thetelecommunications system.
 10. The system according to claim 8 or 9,wherein the desired reply-address information is the sender field of themessage.
 11. The system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the messageis an SMS message.
 12. The system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein themessage is an MMS message.
 13. The system according to claim 8 or 9,wherein the message is an e-mail message.
 14. The system according toclaim 8 or 9, wherein the service operator is further configured toconvert the reply-address information of the message into a nationaladdress, such as a national telephone number, functioning in therecipient's own country.